Caissa Codex
C18

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3 7. Bd3 Qc7

Chess diagram: French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3 after 7…Qc7

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Statistics from Lichess

6,582 games: White 46.9% / Draw 4.7% / Black 48.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,7642,764
1,3591,359
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation Declined 1,1671,167
535535
224224
115115
8282
7878

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Sep 26, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.47 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. Qg4 cxd4 9. Ne2 dxc3 10. Qxg7 Rg8 11. Qxh7 Qxe5 12. h4 Nd7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3 (ECO C18, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Bd3 Qc7 (7 moves).

In 6,582 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.9%, Black 48.4% and 4.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Nf3, in 42% of those games.

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How to answer 7…Qc7

The most played answer, 8. Nf3, also scores best for White: 53.5%, with White winning 51.2% and Black 44.1% of 2,764 games. Of the main answers, 8. Qg4 scores lowest: 42.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Qg4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7…Qc7, the position after French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3 also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, with Bd3 (C18)”. Lichess data as of 26 Sep 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-with-bd3-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-with-bd3-2